War Cry - March, 2015 Page 17

The War Cry | MARCH 2015

The same is true in our spiritual lives.

satisfying harvest awaits those who plant wisely
and tend the crops well. There may be nothing better
and more promising to plant than seeds of prayer.

Most of us realize there is more to this life than

we are enjoying, and we sense that this is partly
due to a lack of prayer. Remember, Jesus promised
that sincere prayer would bring rewards. He said,
"When you pray, go into your room and shut the
door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And
your Father who sees in secret will reward you"
(Matthew 6:6, ESV). So how can we do that? What
can we do this spring, to plant seeds in our lives
that will bring a harvest of prayer and the rewards
that come with it?

Go Slower

I took a trip some time ago with my wife, the

lovely Robin, to speak at a conference in Colorado.
We made our way from the gate to baggage claim
on a moving walkway. We met our driver, who by-
passed tollbooths with her E-ZPass. On the flight
home, I got excited about a magazine article on
buying groceries online. I'm sure we saved a huge
amount of time that week, but we somehow still
got home late and exhausted.

We have adopted a hurried lifestyle punctuated

with spasms of activity. We speed frantically
through work and leisure, not realizing that our
chaos diminishes and detracts from our lives and

makes only the most perfunctory prayer possible.
You may believe the pace of your life is beyond
your control, but you can take charge; it just takes
effort and planning to go slowly. Take my advice:

Follow your schedule fi rst.

Most of us feel

frenzied because we let others control our sched-
ule. That's why it is crucial to proactively block out
"margin," "down time" or "slowdown moments" in
your calendar. Then, when someone asks you to
take on more, you can honestly respond, "I have
something scheduled at that time."

Learn to say no.

Our lives become overloaded

when we say yes too often to too many people. We
end up living out the truth of Proverbs 20:25: "An
impulsive vow is a trap. Later you wish you could
get out of it" (

The Message). Just because you can

do something doesn't mean you should. So learn
to say no. Here is a phrase I have used so much I
should copyright it: "I would love to say yes, but
I have to say no." Try it. Learning to say no will
help you learn to go slow.

Choose slow activities whenever possible.

You don't have to beat that stoplight. You don't
have to be in your seat for the first pitch. You don't
have to park so close to the grocery store entrance;
you may even use the extra steps to the door to
pray. By choosing slow activities several times a
day, you may not only forestall a heart attack or
an ulcer but may also create new space in your
life for moments of prayer and reflection.

mong my favorite moments

as a parent are those

spent with my children in our backyard vegetable garden.

When my two children were in grade school, my son only helped out when I
begged him to, but my daughter loved donning an old-fashioned dress like a
pioneer woman's and helping me plant, weed and harvest the garden. She
delighted in bringing a fresh tomato or cucumber to our dinner table and hearing
everyone's remarks about how much better homegrown produce tastes. There
is something magnifi cent about planting a seed, watching it grow and tasting
the results fresh from the garden.